Prior to being elected, I had

been slammed in every direction by the former administration, including

an expensive lawsuit and deceptive tactics. When I announced a run for

elected office, they labeled me as "negative" because I raised

issues of concern to our community. Interestingly, when they write letters

in the newspaper, there is never a problem as far as they are concerned.

They spoke out fervently against

televising the council meetings and yet they bring a video camera and

tape our meetings. Double standards are the status quo.

Like my friend, I raise the

question, "Who is doing the fighting?" There is a group of people

that some of us refer to as the government in exile. This band is made

up of former elected officials, losing candidates and some of their friends.

Worthy of note, they are not all residents of Peachtree City. Mike Smola,

a political candidate in Tyrone, is also part of this effort. It appears

that Mr. Smola is more interested in Peachtree City politics than Tyrone's

(Best of luck to Ronnie Cannon in that race!).

Once the Brown, Tennant, Rapson

and Weed team got into office, we decided to put forth an olive branch

and select Annie McMenamin as mayor pro tem and show her that we were

willing to work with her. Ms. McMenamin burned that branch, spit on the

ashes and threw them in our face. Well, we tried. We need to give someone

else a chance at the mayor pro tem position now.

I wanted to create a Sports

and Entertainment Authority so that the Development Authority could concentrate

on economic development opportunities. One tennis center participant dispatched

an e-mail full of extraordinary lies to several hundred tennis members

and they all went crazy. Since that time, we have lost several industries.

We lost one just last week that will cause us to lose an additional $58,000

annually in ad valorem taxes. Guess who makes up the difference on the

lost taxes?

Please also remember that neither,

Brown, Tennant, Rapson nor Weed has filed an ethics complaint or a criminal

arrest warrant against anyone. However, we did hire special legal counsel

and he concluded that we had a contractual mishap situation, and he also

suggested that we take the matter to the courts. Instead of heading immediately

to the courts, we decided to approach the authorities in question and

ask them to negotiate with us. Does this sound like fighting to you?

After the criminal arrest warrant

hearing, the judge, in Solomon-like fashion, asked the former mayor and

me to shake hands. I reached out my hand without comment, and the opposition

would not shake hands without a reciting a disclaimer.

Suggestions are being launched

that I should sue the former mayor for his latest actions and reap a financial

reward. I refuse to go there. Instead, I refer to Luke 6: 27-28, "But

I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

The bottom line is that four

out of the five members on the City Council want to get on with business,

and we are willing to work with anyone wanting to be involved. We have

some exciting things ahead and we are also facing some major challenges

that need to be dealt with as soon as possible.

I love being your mayor and

I work diligently at doing the best job possible. I am always willing

to meet with you or your organization. This City Council listens to and

appreciates its constituents. God bless each and every one of you and

please know that I am grateful for the support that you all have shown

over the last couple of weeks.

Steve Brown

Mayor, Peachtree City